NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
African Oystercatcher
Haematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This oystercatcher has a population of over 6,000 adults, which breed between November and April. The scientific name moquini commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Bonaparte.
Wikipedia contributors, African oystercatcher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:48:11.484485+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Haematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856
- Name authority
- Bonaparte, 1856
- Common name
- African Oystercatcher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Haematopodidae
- Genus
- Haematopus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyHaematopodidae
- genusHaematopus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesHaematopus moquini Bonaparte, 1856
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Haematopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| American Black OystercatcherHaematopus bachmani Audubon, 1838 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sooty OystercatcherHaematopus fuliginosus Gould, 1845 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Magellanic OystercatcherHaematopus leucopodus Garnot, 1826 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blackish OystercatcherHaematopus ater Vieillot, 1825 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chatham OystercatcherHaematopus chathamensis E. Hartert, 1927 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Island OystercatcherHaematopus finschi G. H. Martens, 1897 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pied OystercatcherHaematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Canarian OystercatcherHaematopus meadewaldoi Bannerman, 1913 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus Temminck, 1820 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Variable OystercatcherHaematopus unicolor J. R. Forster, 1844 | HaematopodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560353 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3J8XP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.